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G. C. HESTER.

STORE FRONT CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION mu) rm. 4. m4.

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I 6] Montana 5 F/a I QXRTMQM G. C. HESTER.

STORE FRONT CONSTRUCTION.

APPUCATION FILED FEB. 4, I914.

1 1 93, 1 44:. Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J llm GEORGE C. HESTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STORE-FRONT CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

Application filed February 4, 1914. Serial No. 816,580.

To all whom it may conocrn Be it known that I, Gnouon C. HEsTER, ofChicago, in the county of Cook, and in the State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain I16 Y and useful Improvement in Store-FrontConstruction, and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to the supporting frame work or sash for largeplates or panes of glass used in store front construction andparticularly to that type in which the frame work or sash is made ofsheet metal, such as sheet copper.

The object of my invention is to improve the sash so that structurallyit will be rigid or stiff in parts which are obliged to beapressurefalling upon them from the glass from wind pressure and other causes andwhich will have important functions in other respects, and which withalwill be economical in its use of sheet metal and cheaper to manufacture,and to this end my invention consists in the construction substantiallyas hereinafter specified and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawingsFigure l is a perspective view ofa portion of a store front embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a detailview in perspective of a portion of the member which carries the innerglass engaging element of the structure; Fig. 3 a similar view of thesame part showing a different embodiment of my invention; Fig. 4 is asimilar view of still another embodiment of my invention; Fig. 5 is across section of a store front sash of yet another constructionembodying my invention; Fig. 6 a detail view in perspective of a form ofsetting block that may be used.

Briefly described, the type of sash to which my invention relatescomprises a glass engaging clamp formed by an inner member of sheetmetal that has a bearing face for the inner side of the glass and anouter member of sheet metal which by means of screws is drawn or forcedagainst the outer side of the glass with the desired degree of bindingor clamping pressure. The inner clamping member has a gutter-formingportion to receive water of condensation running down the inner side ofthe glass and wash water, and openings are provided leading from saidgutter downward through which the water is discharged and it eventuallyfinds its way to the outside of the window through suitable openingsprovided in the sash for that purpose. The openings provided for thedischarge of water also are useful as air passages to allow acirculation of air for vcn tilation.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawing, the innergutter-carrying and glass engaging member is formed of sheet metal,preferably copper, that in cross section is L-shaped, comprising a"ertical part 10 and a horizontal part 11, that, of course, are integraland this L-shape conforms to the formation at the front of the windowprovided by the sill and floor 12, the horizontal part 11 resting uponthe top of the sill and the vertical part 10 bearing against theshoulder or rabbet formed in the sill and by the front edge of theflooring.

The vertical part 10 by embossing its upper portion is bent outward toform a series of glass-engaging bosses 13 having extended verticalsurfaces that bear against the glass and from which the strip extendspreferably inward and upward at a slight incline and then at its upperedge is bent downward, these bosses being separated at inter ads byinwardly extending depressions that form vertical openings 14 next tothe inner face of the glass through which water running to the gutter 15formed by the inclined upper portion of the strip may pass downward tothe horizontal part 11. To ward its forward edge the horizontal part 11is raised by an embossing operation to provide a series of separatedbosses or projcctions 16 which are separated by depressions that formhorizontal openings 17 through which water passing from the gutter onthe inside of the glass may finally be discharged to the outside of thewindow.

The sheet or pane of glass 18 is held against the inner bosses 13 by arail 1.) made of sheet metal, which in cross section is syni metrical inform and at one edge has a lip or vertical flange that bears against theouter side of the glass and at the opposite edge has a horizontal upperflange that rests on the top of the bosses, screws 20 being provided atintervals which pass from the out side through said outer clamp member.

At intervals apart, but fairly close together, I form in the verticalpart 10 beneath the bosses 13 thereon by an embossing operation verticalribs or corrugations 21 which project outward and similar ribs orcorrugations in the horizontal part 12 which project upward, thevertical ribs extending to the angle or corner formed by the verticaland horizontal parts 10 and 11. The ribs in the horizontal part 12 mayextend only partially from the corner toward the bosses or projections16 in which case, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4, they are taperingin form, these ribs being designated 22, or, also as shown in Figs. 2and 3, they may extend from the corner entirely out to the bosses orprojections 16 their upper surfaces being horizontal, and this form isdes ignated 220. \Vhen the ribs have the form designated 22 they may beplaced as frequently as desired between the horizontal openings 17, forsince they terminate before reaching the projections or bosses 16 theyoffer no obstacle to the ready flow of water through the openings 17.These vertical and horizontal bosses obviously im part such stiffness orrigidity to the sheet metal as to cause it to resist bending at thecorner formed by the vertical gutter carrying part 10 and the horizontalpart 11, the rigidity or stiffness thus imparted being sufficient towithstand the inward pressure from the glass under the conditions ofactual use. Experience has shown that a stiff unyielding support at theinner side of the glass, such as my structure provides, is desirable andby my construction this is provided because the inner gutter is rigidand unyieldable so that it cannot yield under pressure to which it maybe subjected directly by the glass and bending at the corner isprevented by the stiffening beads or ribs. Bending or yielding isobjectionable because the sheet metal that is used is deficient inelasticity so that it is possible for the parts to be subjected topressures from the by heavy winds or otherwise which will result in suchdisplacement of the sheet metal member that when the pressure is removedfrom the glass the sheet metal will not return to its former positionbut will take a set that results in a loose setting for the glass.

The horizontal ribs or corrugations besides their importance asstiffening means, are also valuable in the form designated 220 in thatshould the wood or leather setting upon which the bottom edge of theglass rests be displaced or removed with the result that the heavy paneof glass would settle its descent would be limited by the contact of itsbottom with said horizontal ribs, and hence, the dropping of the glassto an extent which would result in the production of a space between thetop edge of the glass and the setting above it is prevented. It isdesirable and necessary in setting the glass to support its bottom edgeabove the bottom of the sash so as to provide the necessary space forthe passage of water and for Ventilation and small pieces of leather andwood are commonly used for that purpose. Vood rots and thus the glass isdeprived of its support and settles and both the wooden settings and theleather settings may be dis placed accidentally. By the use of thehorizontal ribs 220 thin wooden or leather setting blocks may be placedupon the ribs and if the wood rots or the wooden or the leather settingsare displaced, the glass can descend only to the tops of the ribs, thuspreserving a clear space beneath the glass and also limiting the descentso that no opening is formed at the top of the glass. Dust finding itsway into the spaces beneath the glass is localized or trapped by thehorizontal ribs instead of collecting at one point in a quantity whichmight result in choking the water and air passages. Dust collected insmall quantities in several places by reason of the presence of theribs, can be more readily flushed or washed out, and, indeed, will beautomatically washed out by the action of wash Water and water ofcondensation.

The horizontal ribs or bosses, and especially those near the ends of thesash bar perform the further important function of preventing waterfinding its way to the corner joints or miters at the ends of the sashand passing therethrough and into the woodwork beneath and rotting thewoodwork.

Another benefit from limiting the settling of the glass from the rottingor displacement of the wood or leather settings is that the bottom edgeof the glass is prexcnted from falling into contact with the clampingscrews or their nuts so that the removal of the screws is not interferedwith as would be the case with the weight of the glass after settlingresting upon the screws or nuts; and if in settling the edge of theglass falls upon the exposed edge of the screw, such thread in theunscrewing operation tends to break or fracture the glass by the threadcutting therein.

As shown in Fig. the ribs 220, may be arranged in pairs close togetherand between a pair a hole 221 is provided for the passage of theclamping screws which hold the members of the sash together upon theglass and for the passage of screws or nails for fastening thehorizontal member to the wooden portion of the sill, the clamping screwsand the attaching screws or nails alternating with each other. A hole221 being situated between the bosses or projections 220 will preventwater reaching the holes and finding its way thercthrough to the woodwhere it will be apt to rot it. A pair of ribs 220 between which a holeis provided will, of course, be situated away from the vertical openings14 for leading water from the gutter. Instead of a pair of ribs closetogether, as shown in Fig. 3, a single comparatively wide rib with apreferably flattened top may be employed and provided with a screw hole221 for the passage of a screw, with the same advantage as to theexclusion of water from the hole, as the pair of ribs 220 affords.

Instead of providing the bosses, or projections 13 by an embossingoperation, they may, as shown in Fig. 4, be provided by the use of astrip 23 of lead or other material which at intervals is provided withvertical notches 21 which form water and air passages and whose upperside is inclined downwardly and outwardly toward the face of the glassin order to provide the gutter. This strip may be attached to thevertical member 10 in any desired way. A convenient way is thatillustrated in Fig. l, which consists of tongues 25 struck out from thevertical member 10 which form hook-like projections that reach into thenotches 2i so as to be out of the way of the glass and thereby supportthe strip 28. The tongues 25 may be pinched to clamp or bind the stripIf desired, the vertical member 10 may at its top at the plane of thetop of the strip 23, be carried horizontally inward and then upward toextend the area of the gutter. The vertical stiffening ribs orcorrugations 26 shown in Fig. 4, reach from the underside of the strip23 to the horizontal member ll.

The glass-engaging faces of the sash members may be flat, as shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 3, or as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 they may be rounded so asto form a fulcrum to permit the slight rocking of the glass which takesplace under wind pressures and thus allows the bottom edge of the glassto partake of the vibratory movement which is thus produced and therebyeliminates the danger of breakage of the bottom edge of the glass whichwould exist were it fixedly supported. A convenient form of settingblocle 27 for this arrangement is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Said block hasin its upper side a channel 28 into which the bottom edge of the glassprojects and said block, while being thus attached to the glass so as tomove with it, rests upon the horizontal part 11 of the sash member so asto slide back and forth thereover. The setting block 27 has its undersurface provided with separated bearing points 25) to reduce the extentof contact thereof with the sash so as to facilitate the moving of thesetting block with the glass, but enough friction is desirable toprevent too free movement of the glass. The dotted lines in Fig. 5 showto an exaggerated degree the movement of the Copies of this patent maybe obtained for glass under wind pressure when it rocks between theround or convex bearing surfaces which the sash provides.

The ribs or corrugations may be either round or fiat or any desirableform in cross section which will be consistent with the purpose forwhich I provide them and as will be evident they are not dependent fortheir use and value upon the particular form of the sash in otherrespects.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is- 1. A sash for storefront construction comprising a glass-engaging clamping member of sheetmetal having integral ribs or projections on the side toward the glass,said member having an upper offset glassengaging portion from which saidribs extend downward.

2. A sash for store front construction comprising a sheet metal memberhaving a vertical part at one side of the glass and a horizontal partbeneath the glass, the horizontal part having upwardly extending integral ribs or projections that reach to the corner formed by thevertical and horizontal parts.

3. A sash for store front construction comprising a sheet metal memberhaving a vertical part at one side of the glass, and a horizontal partbeneath the glass, the horizontal part having upwardly extending ribs orprojections, and the vertical part having outwardly extending ribs orprojections, the ribs or projections in both cases reaching to thecorner formed by the vertical and horizontal parts.

4. A sash for store front construction comprising a sheet metal memberhaving a vertical part at one side of the glass with .separatcdglass-engaging projections the spaces between the 'atter forming waterpassages and having a horizontal part beneath the glass with separatedprojections, the spaces between the projections forming water passages.and said horizontal part also having stiffening ribs which extend partway from the vertical part to the separated projections on thehorizontal part.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE C. HESTER.

\Vitnesses R. LADENSOHN, O. F. GEETING.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

